Students play a game to challenge themselves to respond instead of react. Ninth graders at Betsy Ross Arts Design Academy (BRADA) imagined a world where every word they spoke instantly appeared on their skin for everyone to see — a challenge poet Frank Brady used to start a conversation about self-awareness and the power of words. Brady described that image as part of an assembly he hosted at the Kimberly Avenue school Friday as part of a districtwide Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Day celebration. During his third and final assembly of the day, Brady used the thought experiment to spark a conversation with BRADA’s inaugural class of ninth graders. He began the morning presenting the same message to the school’s sixth through eighth graders. As the group of about 45 freshmen filed into the auditorium Friday, the phrases “You are the hero in your own story,” “You are not your past,” and “Words become worlds” flashed on a projector screen on stage. After a brief introduction by Assistant Principal Amy Migliore, Brady joined the students at the front of the stage wearing a shirt and hat reading “Hope Dealer.” During Brady’s presentation, classes throughout the district hosted social-emotional learning actives for a citywide celebration that kicked off in 2021 aiming to prioritize students’ mental health and wellness through dozens of workshops, activities, and wellness-focused lessons. At BRADA — which recently expanded from serving grades five through eight to now include its first class of ninth graders — it hosted Brady for a special workshop with the high schools aimed at helping them each reflect on their emotions, choices, and futures. Brady’s presentation guided the students through paying more attention to the words they say to others, and to themselves. After asking the students to imagine a world where every word they spoke instantly appeared on their skin, Brady asked, “Would that change the way you talk to yourself?” Several students nodded or raised their hands. “Here’s the tea,” Brady said. “What you say already shows through your actions and behaviors.” He urged students to repeat two words together: “Self. Awareness.” He then broke down “T.E.A.”: an acronym standing for thoughts, emotions, and reactions. “All of those things influence your behavior,” he said. “When you clock that T.E.A., you’ll have less crash-outs.” During his presentation Brady shared his own experiences growing up in New York, recalling how being bullied in the third grade led him to react in ways that nearly got him expelled. “One reaction can change your life,” he said. As he grew up, Brady said, he was often told he was “too angry” because he was constantly reactionary. As a result he learned to control his reactions rather than letting others control them. “I’m not special. I’m just like y’all,” Brady told the students. “I just stopped letting people control me and my reactions.” He pointed toward his head. “If you’re in control up here, you won’t get tricked into being a clown,” he said. “And I’m not talking to clowns — I’m talking to kings and queens.” To demonstrate just how quickly emotions can take over, Brady invited some students to take part in a challenge. Freshmen Jacob and Ashliyah faced off in a quick-reaction game. As Brady called out “head,” “shoulders,” and “knees,” the competitors mirrored touching the body part that matched Brady’s words — until he suddenly shouted “cup,” signaling them to grab a red Solo cup placed between them. Two attempts later Jacob took the win for the quickest to listen and respond in the moment. While the auditorium filled with students’ cheers for their peers on stage, Brady paused to ask how the participants felt during the challenge. “Excited,” Jacob said. “Adrenaline,” Ashliyah added. “That first time, y’all were reacting,” Brady said. “But once you realized what was happening, you started responding.” He summed up the lesson in a phrase he repeated throughout the presentation: “Control your thoughts before they manifest into actions.” Freshmen Ashliyah Vazquez and Julianna Santiago said the assembly delivered a message they felt students their age needed to hear. “It was lit,” Ashliyah said. “Everyone needed it.” Julianna agreed. “Alot of kids get easily influenced, so it was very important to talk about it,” she said. Both said they hope Brady will return to the school for future presentations because of his high energy and focus on lessons “we want but don’t always get in class.” For Brady, the goal of the presentation was simple: Help students learn to pause before reacting. “When you practice self-awareness and self-management,” he said, “that’s what comes out under pressure.” And that, he told the freshmen, can change the direction of their lives. Migliore said the school is working on SEL programming to help students, particularly the freshmen, to build self-awareness skills they can rely on throughout their lives. “Some of them have been here since fifth grade so the transition is very different. They are going to be the oldest in the school for the next four years, which is new to them,” she said. The introduction of BRADA’s high school grades is aimed at easing the transition between middle and high school, which the district noticed has been a struggle in recent years. BRADA freshmen with Brady during SEL Day workshop. The presentation was broadcasted live across NHPS. The post “Hope Dealer” Brings Self-Awareness To School appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less